Majority of Catalans want independence poll held

The majority of Catalans want the right to decide on independence in a referendum and believe Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy should authorise such a vote, a poll showed yesterday.

Last week separatist parties in Spain’s Catalonia region set Nov 9, 2014, as the date for a proposed independence referendum, a vote the government opposes as unconstitutional.

But 74% of Catalans believe they should be given a say over their relationship with Spain, showed a GESOP poll, based on interviews with 800 people and published in Catalan newspaper El Periodico.